Creepy Health? In The Future, AirPods Will Listen To You Breathe

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Yes, you read that right. In their latest bid to track just how healthy you are, a study has found that while we’re using AirPods for audio input, in turn, they’ll be using our audio output to calculate our respiratory rate. How’s that for a twist in the next step of remote healthcare?

A tad much or nothing extraordinary?

To be fair, remote health monitoring is hardly something new; whether it’s smartwatches or fitness apps. Even Apple Watch OS7 tracked breathing rates, as users had the option of switching that on to help monitor sleeping patterns. However, that had nothing to do with audio input.

Given the fact that the AirPods will use their microphones to pick up the sound of your breath and measure that, is there anything else that they’ll be picking up on? Reportedly, nothing else, but it’s not the first time this month that Apple has landed in privacy-themed hot water, despite its alleged best intentions.

In case you need reminding…

When Apple announced that software would be scanning iCloud on Apple devices for any harmful images containing children, understandable though it is, concerns about user privacy were raised. Apple responded, saying that it’s benign and Apple user privacy will be respected, but sceptics remain.

Star Wars Villains — kylorendaily: We shall see.

So, where does that leave us?

In essence, from what we can find, there are few reasons to truly be fearful about how Apple could spy on us using AirPods. For now, it appears that Apple does have your health at heart…and your money if you’re willing to buy them. That said, the AirPods are pretty great in any case!

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